Chapter 7: Stygia, the Frozen Sea - Chains of Asmodeus

Chapter 7: Stygia, the Frozen Sea. No one finds the Chasm of Found Things. It finds you. Stygia is a vast frozen sea, decorated with ice and snow. Unlike the other layers of the Nine Hells, Stygia doesn't have a capital city, nor a place from which its archdevil rules. Even with a saltwater body underneath the ice, the only permanent open water in the realm is the Styx, which lazily meanders through the entire realm. A constant twilight, accompanied by atmospheric lightning storms, makes the realm appear harsh and bleak-not an inaccurate assessment. Few devils call the layer their home, though that doesn't mean Stygia lacks inhabitants. Running This Chapter Before running this chapter read the "Stygia Overview" section. It provides you with everything you need to guide your players through this wasteland. Encounters The isolated stretches of ice that the characters venture across bring with them their own unique challenges. The creatures that can be encountered on this layer of the Nine Hells are well equipped to deal with the frigid temperatures. Roll on the Random Encounters in Stygia table to see which of them the characters encounter. 1 One ice devil travels through the icy hellscape. 2 Breaking through the ice to hunt for food, a kraken with immunity to cold damage thrashes about. If it spots any prey, such as mortals visiting the Nine Hells, it attacks. 3 2d6 white abishai (see Monsters of the Multiverse) stalk the blizzards, looking for treasure to bring back to their lair. When they spot the characters, they threaten and extort hoping for loot. 4 A mismatched pack of animals, starved nearly to death, attacks the characters out of desperation. The pack is led by an ancient mammoth, but also includes 3d6 polar bear. 5 Shouts and sounds of combat can be heard from nearby. A pair of frost giant are locked in a heated battle with a remorhaz. It is a den mother, and each of the 2d4 eggs in its hive, are worth 500 gp. 6 A pocket of intense cold erupts in a 60-fo...